Unusual canvas

Whether she's capturing cobbled streets in Provence or sketching limoncello in Italy, Silvious' paintings are tiny snapshots of the culture of each location, incredibly detailed despite their small-scale.

"As an artist you're always trying to find unique ways of expressing your art, and I think this is where all these discarded materials as canvasses came to light," Silvious tells CNN Travel.

The idea for this project was born, naturally, over tea. Silvious was discussing art projects with her sister when the idea arose, and she soon began experimenting.

Silvious learned her art as she went along. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Noepoli, Italy.

Courtesy Ruby Silvious

Perfecting the art of painting on tea bags was a question of trial and error -- and Silvious had to persevere.

"You have to see all the piles of my failed experiments," Silvious says. "I never throw anything out, I try to recycle them as well."

But once Silvious got to grips with using watercolor on the used tea bags, she didn't look back.

"I love that they're small and they're manageable and they're portable," she says.

She began sharing her intricate, quirky designs on her Instagram page -- and quickly built up a following of tea-lovers across the globe.

Top tea picks

Silvious artwork isn't just fueled by her love of travel -- her love of tea also plays an obvious part.

So what's her favorite tea to drink? "I love Earl Grey, and it does not have to be any particular brand, but it's usually what I like," she says. "I like green tea as well."

What about her favorite tea to paint on? Silvious says certain tea types are easier to mold than others.

"Over time I have discovered all types of tea bag construction. This was not something that I had planned, but I did notice that certain tea bags were just much thinner than others," she explains. "And then some tea bags also stain better than others."

A year of tea

Silvious has compiled one book and is working on a follow-up. Pictured here: Tea bag inspired by Hyeres, France.

Courtesy Ruby Silvious

Silvious has also compiled her work into an eye-catching coffee table book: "363 Days of Tea," which charts a year of tea bag painting:

"Usually the first question is, what happened to the two days? And it has to do with sometimes New Year's resolutions just don't happen very quickly, and I did not start until the third day," she laughs.